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Savannah area gas prices continue to rise

Average retail gasoline prices in Savannah rosen 2.7 cents a gallon last week to an average of $3.88 a gallon on Sunday.

This compares with the national average that increased 1.4 cents a gallon last week to $3.91, according to gasoline price website SavannahGasPrices.com.

Prices Sunday were 20.8 cents a gallon higher than the same day one year ago and 17.9 cents a gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 16.8 cents a gallon during the last month and stands 17.2 cents higher than a year ago.

"Gasoline prices in the hardest hit areas have finally shown signs of relief, with gasoline prices falling now in Chicago as they have for a few weeks in California," said GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan. "We're beginning to see refinery utilization rise, indicating refineries are coming out of maintenance and boosting production. If we continue to see utilization rise at domestic refineries, we may see an earlier peak than we have in prior years."